Every other week, Mahoning County sends out notices to roughly five hundred fifty residents requesting they serve jury duty in Common Pleas court.  But when the docket includes a pair of potential death penalty cases, the jury pool gets much larger.

Both Michael Davis and Benny Adams are facing capitol murder trials this week.  Davis for the deaths of several members of an eastside Youngstown family in a house fire in January and Adams for the twenty two year old rape and murder of a YSU student.  Jury Commissioner Bob Jackson admits while many are summoned, some will have legitimate reasons why they can't serve as jurors, especially in a case that could last for weeks.

To ensure other cases aren't delayed by the Davis and Adams trials, the county's Assignment Office had to make special arrangements as well to be sure court schedules don't come to a standstill.

That's not the case however for the lawyers who will handle these trials, especially the defense attorneys, who often must temporarily set aside the rest of their case load.

First News Legal Analyst, Attorney Mark Gervelis, who tried one death penalty case himself years ago as a prosecutor, admits taxpayers often foot the bill for these cases.

While the costs of prosecuting death penalty cases is Bourne by the budget of the county prosecutor, or district attorney,  defense lawyers handling indigent clients, those who can't afford to hire their own attorney are reimbursed for some of their expenses by taxpayers as well.

A team of two lawyers, who must first be certified to try death penalty cases will split a maximum of seventy five thousand dollars for their work which is a far cry from what the case might actually cost them in time and expenses.